Any references to methods, apparatus or documents of the prior art are not to be taken as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed, or form part of the common general knowledge.
It is known to infuse perfumes, fragrances and essential oils into solid objects for slow release. One type of solid object is commonly known as a “stone”. These stones are usually pebble sized and are made from unglazed ceramic material. These stones can be used in jewelry manufacture and can be placed in a decorative locket around a wearer's neck. Thus it is known to identify these pebbles as “perfume stones”.
One disadvantage with perfume stones is the difficulty in efficiently manufacturing the stones to any desired shape and size. Another difficulty is in ensuring that the stones are not too soft (and therefore prone to crumbling, flaking and the like), or too hard that they may damage the jewelry. Another difficulty is in the manufacture of stones with the right degree of porosity to enable fragrances to be infused into the stone by absorption and/or adsorption and to release the fragrance at an acceptable rate to not be too overpowering, or too hard to detect.
Perfume stones used in jewelry can also be called “jewelstones” but are not to be confused with gemstones.
It is an object of the invention to provide a perfume stone that overcomes at least some of the above mentioned disadvantages or provide a useful or commercial choice in the marketplace.